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Religion in Georgeland
Georgeland's religious makeup is diverse. There is no official state religion in Georgeland (despite numerous attempts, most notably in the 1930s, to establish one), though it remains a predominantly Christian country, with approximately two-thirds of the Christian population identifying as Protestant and the remaining third as Roman Catholic. Despite this, Catholicism remains the single largest Christian denomination in Georgeland as there are many Protestant churches operating in Georgeland. Georgeland also has vocal minorities of Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and Jews. History As Georgeland has no indigenous population (despite evidence of one in the past), the first religious service to take place in the country was upon the landing of Juan Delmago on what is now Delmago Island in 1767. Delmago was, like most Spaniards, a Roman Catholic - however, his crew were predominantly English Protestants. To this end, the ship's chaplain, Thomas Earle, held an Anglican service upon landing. When Georgeland's first settlement was established at Georgetown in 1773, the initial free settlers included among their number a lay preacher, James Worthy, and were joined in 1779 by two Anglican vicars, John Simon and Alexander Clement. As settlement spread, the vast majority of the population continued to be English protestants. However, after 1800, the Irish population increased exponentially, due mostly to a change in policy regarding Irish immigration to Georgeland. This caused a surge in the country's Catholic population to 1834, when the Catholic Church in Georgeland was officially established. Catholic preachers and clergymen had been operating for many years in Georgeland, but it was not until this date they recieved an official status and were recognised by the Pope as a Catholic community. In the latter half of the nineteenth century, the country's Anglican community lobbied for and eventually recieved a Synod and established Church of their own, known since 1962 as the Anglican Communion of Georgeland, as part of the worldwide Anglican communion. Despite this, an Archbishop was not appointed until 1904, and the first Primate was not appointed until the 1930s. The same period saw an increase in non-Christian faiths, most notably Judaism. There had been five Jews among the 287 first setters in 1773; this number had increased to nearly eight thousand by 1891 when Georgeland was granted independence, and to nearly fifty thousand by 1940. Relaxing of immigration laws after World War II saw an influx of refugees and settlers, many of them Jews but also Hindus and Muslims from India, which was yet to be granted independence. Immigration from Muslim countries has been on the increase since 1974, and Islam is now Georgeland's second-largest faith after Christianity. Relations between Muslims and the wider community underwent some strain following the September 11 Attacks in 2001. However, social commentators have noted that the anti-Islamic reaction seems to have been less prominent in Georgeland than in other Western nations, such as the United States and close neighbour Australia. Constitutional status Demography Christianity Catholicism Approximately one-third of all Georgelanders identifying as Christian declared themselves to be Roman Catholic in the 2007 Census. This amounts to approximately 23% of the general population, or 7.5 million people. Georgeland's Catholic community are concentrated in Scoita, where Catholics account for 72% of the Christian population. Scoita was first settled predominantly by Irish Catholics, and the religious traditions of the first settlers have continued to this day. The Catholic Church in Georgeland is the single-largest religious denomination in the country. Operating since 1834, the Catholic Church has occasionally been criticised for holding significant political influence, particularly in Scoita. The Catholic Church appoints several Archbishops in Georgeland. Of these, the Archbishop of Emilypolis is unofficially the church's Primate, or leader, in Georgeland due to his usually being a Cardinal. The present Archbishop is Cardinal Joseph Riley, who exerts a considerable amount of social and political influence. Protestantism Islam Judaism Hinduism Buddhism Paganism/Wicca Other religions No religion Category:Culture